From Harassment to Civility:Creating and Sustaining Culture

in the #metoo Era

Eric Swenson

Association of California Symphony OrchestrasAugust 6, 2019

About Me• Workforce & Leadership

Strategist• Author of two books on

leadership and talent• Speaks nationally on topics such

as leadership, management and workforce trends and issues

• 17 year corporate career in sales, corporate training, marketing, and senior management.

• Led or worked on dozens of workplace investigations

@ericwswenson

I shouldn’t be here today.

I shouldn’t be here today.(However…)

In The Workplace Right Now•13.6% increase in sexual harassment charges in 2018 from 2017

•#1 Discrimination Charge in U.S. in 2018?•Retaliation

Sexual Harassment Cases Filed (EEOC)

5,000

7,500

10,000

12,500

15,000

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 03 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

It Is Changing, But It’s Still Male Dominated

“There are more CEOs named John, than women CEOs”

---Professor Laura HuangHarvard Business School

In The United States•87%-94% of employees experiencing harassment don’t file a formal complaint.

• If you’re a woman, you have a 60% chance of experiencing sexual harassment anywhere.

• If you’re a man, you have a 20% chance of experiencing sexual harassment.

In Your Industry

Non-Profits In Denial

“That could never happen here.”

Wanna bet?

In California•3,698 Right-to-Sue Letters ordered by DFEH

•About 2 in 5 of our non-profit clients

Excuses I Hear:• It was just a misunderstanding• “He/She over-reacted”• “I didn’t know”• “She’s not my type”

Potential Sexual Harassers

Supervisors

Patrons

Vendors

Co-workers

Board Members

Volunteers

EMPLOYEE

May 17, 2019

Observations on That Survey1. Men at senior-levels are 12x more likely than

men at junior-levels to hesitate about 1:1 with women

2. Access needs to be equal

Observations on That Survey

(In fairness, women deserve better mentors than men who find their very presence scary.)

The Rules Aren’t That Complicated.

“Men who are polite aren’t really throwing up their hands and saying, now I can’t touch

anybody; it’s only the men who aren’t getting it who are saying that.”

--Jodi Smith, Founder, Mannersmith

In The WorkplaceIs it #metoo or is it #outrage?A: It doesn’t really matter, if it

happens to you.

Tactical Steps You Might TakeUpdate your Employee Handbook

Make it a regular practice to talk to your employees

Employee training (mandatory)

Board training (should be mandatory)

Encourage everyone to come forward.

Install a hotline for employees to call

Define who you are before someone else defines it for you.

If we want to discourage harassment, what is it we want to encourage?

Values + Leadership + Self-Awareness=

Success

“When you start out with really good values, it’s much easier to maintain them.”

--Robert Pasin, CEO, Radio Flyer

I Went On Your Websites…• Accessibility• Accountable• Collaboration• Cooperation• Creativity• Diversity• Education

• Engagement• Excellence• Financial Responsibility• Innovation• Musicianship• Passion

Potential Strategic Solutions

• Conduct a culture audit • Allow for truly confidential reporting• Employee engagement surveys• Update your training

A Really Simple Leadership Philosophy:

Treat your employees like your donors.

Goals & Values Builder

There are upsides/downside for a zero-tolerance policy.

Quick!Describe Your Culture.

Your Values Define Your Culture.

Culture•Your corporate culture is tangible – it’s your job to care

•“Culture eats strategy for lunch.” •If someone is always negative, get them out of the room.

•Who’s in charge of yes?

Culture•Don’t let your culture just happen.•Be better at endings.•Hire for character (train for skills)

Your Spheres of Influence

You

Board Members

Community Leaders

End Users

Music Community

Friends & Family

Colleagues/Peers

Everyone Blurs the Lines

YouSupervisorsDonors End Users

Music Community

Friends & Family

Colleagues/Peers

Stop Putting It All on HR•HR rarely has the power to stop sexual harassment.

• If you want a culture of respect, it has to be a top priority of top leaders.

•No excuses for bad behavior. No exceptions for star performers.

• (Or, big donors.)• (Or, conductors.)

My Biggest Concern is Your Board & HVDs

•Balance Your Boards•Set behavioral expectations for your boards•Pretty hard for an employee to say no to a Board member

•Train them

--Verna Myers

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”

Strategic Steps You Might Take• Survey Your Employees (and perhaps your musicians):

• How would you define our culture?• Based on your experience here, what really are our values?• If you were the Board Chair/CEO for a day, what’s the first

thing you’d do?• Leadership Development• Bystander Intervention Training

• leveraging the people in your environment to set the tone for what’s acceptable and what’s not

If It Happens…Grievance ProcedureBoard Chair InvolvementTake it SeriouslyCalifornia Lawyers for the Arts

Actions Employee Likely To Take If Company Fails to Act Against Sexual Harassment

4%

7%

15%

20%

43%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Protest Publicly

Take no action

Leak incident to news media

Resign

Raise issue with manager/supervisor

The Manifest 2019 Workplace Values Survey

Is It Getting Better?Harvard Study – July 2019

•Sexual Coercion: down from 25% to 16%•Unwanted Sexual Attention: down from 66% to 25%

•But: Increase in reports of gender harassment (76% to 92%)

Your To Do ListGrievance ProcedureBoard Chair InvolvementTake it SeriouslyCalifornia Lawyers for the Arts

Thank You!www.ericwswenson.com

@ericwswenson